2. Guitar levels explained
Descriptions of assessment levels for guitar pupils.
Level 1
Pupils should sit and hold the guitar correctly with good posture.
They should be able to play a short tune, on 2 strings with some musicality and good tone production using their fingers.
Pupils should be able to play 3, three string chords and have a basic understanding of notation and/or TAB.
Level 2
Pupils should sit and hold the guitar correctly with good posture.
They should be able to play a more complex tune on 4 strings with musicality and good tone production, using their fingers.
Pupils should be able to play 4, six string chords and have a wider understanding of notation and/or TAB.
Level 3
Pupils should sit and hold the guitar correctly with good posture.
They should be able to play up to 20 bars of music in 4/4 time, using simple 1st position melodies composed of whole, half and quarter notes and their associated rests as well as a range of basic 1st position chords.
They should be able to play the scales and technical exercises, the sight-reading, improvisation and aural exercises appropriate to a pre Grade 1 examination.
Pupils should be comfortable using a pick as well as fingers and be confident reading notation and/or TAB.
Level 4
Pupils hold the guitar correctly with good posture.
They should be able to play up to 32 bars of music using 1st position chords and melodies composed of whole, half, quarter and eighth notes and their associated rests, tied notes and dotted half and quarter notes.
Pupils should be able to include simple legato and staccato styles where appropriate.
They should be able to play the scales and technical exercises, sight reading, improvisation and aural exercises appropriate to Grade 1 examination.
Pupils should be comfortable using pick as well as fingers and be confident reading notation and/or TAB.
Level 5
Pupils hold their guitar correctly with good posture.
Pupils should be acquiring a range of physical and expressive techniques including palm muting and the use of double stops on adjacent strings, simple legato, staccato and slides as well as simple dynamics.
They should be able play to a level allowing them to cope with all the requirements of a Grade 2 examiation.
Pupils should be comfortable using a pick and fingers and be confident reading notation and/or TAB.
Level 6
Puplis hold the guitar correctly with good posture.
They are continuing the foundation work from level 5.
They will encounter syncopated eighth and sixteenth notes, strumming as well as developing techniques including fretting hand and whammy bar vibrato, hammer ons and pull offs, slides and simple bends.
Pieces are now much longer and pupils should be developing their own stylistic awareness, including amp settings for each song.
They should be able to cope with all the demands of a grade 3 examination.
Pupils should be comfortable using a pick and fingers and be confident reading notation and/or TAB.
Level 7
Pupils should be acquiring a greater range of physical and expressive techniques including damping, double stopping, legato and staccato, fretting and whammy bar vibrato, hammer ons and pull offs, as well as accents.
They will be experimenting with a greater range of dynamics and continue to develop the ability to play with stylistic authority.
They should be able to cope with the demands of a Grade 4 examination.
Pupils should be comfortable using a pick and fingers and be confident reading notation and/or TAB.
Level 8
Pupils will be confident in a range of physical and expressive techniques.
They will be able to demonstrate their abilities across a number of styles and have control over tone and sound adjustments to suit the playing style of their choice.
They should be able to cope with the demands of a grade 5 examination.
Pupils should be comfortable using a pick and fingers and be confident reading notation and/or TAB.